Readers Write (Aug. 4): I-94 suicide attempt thwarted, Donald Trump, the value of flossing

Complete strangers saving a life above Interstate 94 on National Night Out is not ironic, it's predictable ("Strangers pull together to rescue I-94 jumper," Aug. 3). That is who we are. Now it is time for the state's politicians to "reach through the fence" and save our neighbors in distress. Minnesota's wrongly focused "conservative" efforts to simply cut "public spending" (it's not, as some say, abstract "government money") has produced this great failure. The effort to "privatize" (to profit-seeking) sources has failed. It hasn't worked. It doesn't work.

True conservatives would return to the "good old days" of the 1960s and '70s when our public money was used to create a level of human mental health care that more closely met the needs of our society. Anything short of a conservative return to this level of mental health care means our politicians are not only failing to reach through the fence but are shamefully turning their backs and walking away while those in need fall to their destruction. We citizens all must demand this action now.

My interpretation of including the fallen soldier's parents at the Democratic National Convention is that, first, they illustrate the opposite of the "Muslim extremist" stereotype perpetuated by a segment of the political spectrum and, second, they represent the majority of Muslims in America — dignified, proud, hardworking contributors to our society. By sharing their story, they connected with the hearts of millions of good people. Most effective campaigns include citizens with touching personal stories. To believe, as some readers do, that this grieving couple was included just to bait the opposing candidate ("Both sides exploit slain soldier," Readers Write, Aug. 3) is the height of cynicism and sounds as hypersensitive as that candidate. It is his problem, not the DNC's.

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One of the Aug. 3 letter writers stated that Donald Trump "has never said his fight is against all Muslims." OK. Here's what Trump said on Dec. 7: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

Yes, I know he's tempered his remarks slightly since, but the damage to that community was done with that one sentence. Just take an apolitical step back from his statement and replace "Muslims" with "Christians." See how weird it sounds? See how it could be perceived that his fight is indeed against all Muslims?

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I'm leaving several groups off the list because I haven't finished alphabetizing them — I'll get back to you.

For those people who have written about the lack of evidence that flossing is beneficial to a person's dental health ("Turns out, flossing may be overrated," Aug. 3), I have two things to say:

1) "Slow news day? When you explain the results of this study to me, please speak in another direction so I don't have to smell your breath."

2) "Life is short. Smile while you still have your teeth."

I don't need a study to prove what I see the evidence of every day, thank you.

The next time you have chicken or steak or broccoli or celery that gets packed between your teeth, wait as long as you can stand the pressure it creates between them. Then, when you finally decide to floss it out, give it a good smell.

As with everything, genetic makeup does make a difference. We all know or have read about the 95-year-old who attributes long life to a glass of bourbon and a pack of cigarettes every day. Similarly, there are people who don't brush or floss regularly but don't seem to get cavities or significant gum disease.

I have spent my entire professional career seeing the results of good and poor dental self-care. While rigorous studies may help in general understanding, I don't need any study to tell me the very significant benefits that brushing twice a day for two minutes and flossing once a day have on a patient's dental well-being, thank you.